Motorcycles

Ye gods, the new Ducati 698 Mono does wheelies and powerslides for you

Ye gods, the new Ducati 698 Mono does wheelies and powerslides for you
Um, he's doing that... AND looking at the camera.
Um, he's doing that... AND looking at the camera.
View 7 Images
Um, he's doing that... AND looking at the camera.
1/7
Um, he's doing that... AND looking at the camera.
Hit the sideways button and go!
2/7
Hit the sideways button and go!
An advanced Wheelie Assist mode will keep the front up for you
3/7
An advanced Wheelie Assist mode will keep the front up for you
I could do that, I just don't wanna
4/7
I could do that, I just don't wanna
Sideways action has ever been so easy, with the ABS and TC systems maintaining a maximum yaw angle
5/7
Sideways action has ever been so easy, with the ABS and TC systems maintaining a maximum yaw angle
Ground clearance appears adequate
6/7
Ground clearance appears adequate
I could do that. Once
7/7
I could do that. Once
View gallery - 7 images

Ducati has a new motorbike, and it's celebrating this fact with a series of photos and videos so flagrantly ribald and saucy they'd be pixelated out in Japan. I mean, look at them. In fact, forget the bike, can I buy some of this guy's talent?

If you're gonna name a bike "Mono," you'd better deliver – but we'd expect nothing less from Ducati. It's nearly 20 years since Ducati decided what the heck, let's make a supermotard with a massive sportsbike engine in it and built the first Hypermotard.

The motorcycle world reeled in awe as the first press images came out, showing ex-MotoGP riding god Ruben Xaus getting heavily sideways in a corner, knee down, smoke pouring off the rear wheel, with one hand off the handlebar giving a cheeky thumbs-up.

That's how you advertise a motor sickle, people. And Ducati certainly hasn't decided to play it safe and politically correct with the latest Hypermotard either.

Ground clearance appears adequate
Ground clearance appears adequate

The new Hypermotard 698 Mono is the company's first-ever roadgoing single, featuring a brand-spankers 659-cc Superquadro Mono engine, derived from the barnstorming Panigale 1299 Superquadro engine. Its 116-mm bore, says Ducati, is the widest ever featured on a roadgoing production single, and as a result, it's able to rev up to a ridiculous 10,250 rpm, and produce a frankly silly 77.5 horsepower in stock form, or 84.5 with a Termi pipe on the back.

Your other key metric is 151 kg (333 lb) without fuel – the Mono is heavy compared to proper racing motards, but a featherweight when lined up against most road bikes.

There's Brembo and Marzocchi written where you'd expect, and the bidirectional quickshift means you don't have to sully your clutch fingers once you're moving other than to salute the sky with your front wheel. There's also traction control, wheelie control and ABS braking – which can be set in many modes, some of which you could put your grandma on and she'd feel safe, and others that are there chiefly to make the bike easier to control in a back-wheel-out powerslide, making sure the bike stays within a predetermined yaw angle so that beginners can start throwing the thing in sideways with merry abandon. What a wonderful world.

Sideways action has ever been so easy, with the ABS and TC systems maintaining a maximum yaw angle
Sideways action has ever been so easy, with the ABS and TC systems maintaining a maximum yaw angle

Indeed, the wheelie control system appears to be a bit of a cheat code itself, complete with a mode you can unlock in software that's actually called Wheelie Assist. "In this case," said Ducati, "the electronics assist the rider in executing and maintaining a prolonged wheelie, regulating the angle using the engine torque delivered." Um, yes please.

Enough said. You'll know if this jigger is up your alley. It certainly looks like it'd be up mine. Bravo, Ducati! Now, enjoy the video below, as well as the outrageous shots in the gallery.

New Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono | Live. Play. Ride.

Source: Ducati

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1 comment
1 comment
guzmanchinky
Been riding for 44 years. Had a 790 Adventure R that had wheelie prevention, but wheelie assist is a whole other level of insanity. Wish I could say the reliability of my KTM was as advanced as it's abilities...